My friend, Daniel, told me of an app that reminds you that we all croak. Remembering death is an honored practice in all religions. Since the 1950s, we mostly have hidden death away and forgotten this useful truth – we are going to die.
Franz Kafka goes so far as to say, “The meaning of life is that it ends.”
In this day of the dead season, pay attention.
Memento Mori, Latin for remember you must die, has been a practice in the Christian tradition from the beginning and before that, the Greek philosophers. It’s a good practice.
This chapter below comes from my favorite book, The Twenty Second Smile: Plus 97 More Engagingly Playful Strategies to Help you be Happy, Wild, and Free. I crafted each chapter with exactly 50 words, so you’ll have fun with it. And each has a delightful image to add its thousand words worth of benefit.
Relax You’re Going to Die
Clients sometimes cringe when I say, “Relax, you’re going to die.” But when I say it to myself, I feel relaxed and comforted. I don’t have to perform. I can’t mess it up. I’ll die, I don’t know how or when, but all will be handled for me. Perfectly. Ahhhh…
The Two Apps
WeCroak get its own write ups in the NY Times and the Atlantic. It costs $0.99.
I’m playing with Mortality Day because it’s free.
You can explore others. Naturally, you can find Apple versions as well.
Memento Mori
Death is certain.
Time of death is uncertain.
How then to live your life.
May you walk in beauty,
William
It’s actually a beautiful day when the medical industry tells you that your situation is hopeless. Gone is the perceived need to scan every body part for trouble, waste hours in cold, fluorescent lit offices, or otherwise engage in the submissive rituals of “health care.” Instead, one can hike through the mountain forests with exuberant grandsons. Awesome, as the grandsons would say.